Of Brigands and Bravery: Kuniyoshi’s Heroes of the Suikoden

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This is the first monograph in English on the stunning series "One hundred and eight heroes of the Suikoden". "The Suikoden" is the Japanese adaptation of the 14th-century Chinese vernacular novel "Shuihu zhuan", which recounts the exploits of a group of brave and righteous rebels on Mount Liang. "The Suikoden" was enormously popular in Japan during the 19th century. It was Kuniyoshi’s initial designs for the single-sheet print series "The one hundred and eight heroes of the Suikoden (Tsûzoku Suikoden gôketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)" -- in which the full-length portraits of the heroes are charged with a new sense of dynamism -- that spurred a "Suikoden" craze in Edo (present-day Tokyo). This publication reproduces the 74 known designs of the series in full color, each accompanied by an explanatory text. Many of the designs still inspire Japanese tattooists, and supplementary information on this subject is also included in the book.